Adapting 360-Degree Cameras for Culvert Inspection: Case Study
Publication: Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 10, Issue 1
Abstract
Prior video technologies such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras have been used for culvert inspection. They are limited by the range of the area scanned and by the direction in which the camera is oriented because of a limited field of view (FOV). In this research, a 360-degree camera mounted on a remote-controlled crawler was designed and modified to travel through a culvert to scan and take videos of the culvert’s interiors. With the unique mounting and coverage of the 360-degree camera, a continuous view of the inner walls of the culvert was captured, as if by a human eye, making visual inspection of hard-to-reach areas possible. The video was analyzed manually, and areas suggesting defects were studied. Snapshots of defective areas were further analyzed using computer software developed in-house, where defects were identified by differences in color and texture. Calculations made from the data collected helped to pinpoint the location of the defects within the culvert and estimate the area of the defects in order to provide culvert inspectors with quantitative information on the condition of the infrastructure.
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Acknowledgments
This research was sponsored by internal funds from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). The contents of this paper reflect the views of authors, who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the information presented here. The authors wish to acknowledge Cambridge Construction and Management for donating the 18” diameter HDPE culvert.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice
Volume 10 • Issue 1 • February 2019
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 15, 2017
Accepted: Jun 11, 2018
Published online: Sep 25, 2018
Published in print: Feb 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Feb 25, 2019
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